KE Radar
Coping with the Heat? South Korean Frozen Treats to the Rescue
There comes a certain type of trust with tearing open the same exact ice cream package you’ve had for decades, and being able to predict its exact flavor. For most South Koreans, this is standard business — convenience store ice creams that were a staple of childhood are still around
Ppira: Women's Bodies as Bait in Propaganda War Between Two Koreas
A woman with curled up hair and enamel white pumps flashes her legs in an archetypal Marilyn Monroe posture — wind blows from below, ballooning up her flowing dress, which she pushes down just before revealing too much. “Who’s stopping you?” “If you run, it takes just five minutes!
South Korea Migrant Workers Publicize Dire Work Conditions
In a viral video posted by Facebook page “Khmer people in Korea,” a migrant worker is violently beaten and abused by a man assumed to be his South Korean boss. It has reached more than 2 million views since July 13. The video shows the worker being forcefully dragged around,
Park Geun-hye Has Made Her Bed. Now, Who Will Lie in It?
Former president Park Geun-hye’s administration has come under fire recently for documents it left behind in the presidential office. But now it turns out she left something else behind too: three rather expensive beds. During her presidency, Park purchased the beds with taxpayers’ money at a total cost of
Praise for Nuclear Industry Grows. Guess Who Is Paying for It.
As Moon Jae-in’s government looks for ways to implement its promised move away from nuclear power, publicly-owned Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) appears to have dramatically upped its spending on pro-nuclear publicity. Data obtained by independent lawmaker Yoon Jong-o and the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM) and
South Korea Drops HIV Screening of Foreigners, but Stigma Remains
The Ministry of Justice announced earlier this month that English teachers will no longer be screened for HIV during the visa application process to be eligible to enter and stay in South Korea. The decision comes 10 years after the government changed its visa policies for foreign English teachers, in
Viral Crash Footage Prompts Questions About Drowsy Driving
In a viral video from July 9, a blue bus first crashes into, then entirely crushes and shatters a white sedan on a highway through Seoul. A car to the right swerves to avoid the scene, only to hit another car and flip over onto its top. The 51-year-old driver
Facebook Page Excites Followers with Supremely Banal Content
In an era of impeccable Instagram feeds and constant new, exciting content, you wouldn’t expect a photo of kimchi on a small metal plate or damp towels hanging out to dry to rack up 500 likes on Facebook. But two weeks ago, one anonymous Facebook user launched the page
Yoo Ah Exempt: Another Celebrity Avoids Military Service
With both his name and “osteosarcoma” trending on giant portal site Naver, actor Yoo Ah-in found himself the center of Internet attention on June 26, joining the ranks of South Korean men exempt from mandatory military service. On May 22, Yoo received the last of five health examinations that began
Soy Sauce For Your Baby's Ear Inflammation
An online community for anti vaccination in South Korea, called “Ahn-a-ki,” is finally closing. In this infamous Naver cafe, users called “mom-doctors” individually diagnosed other online members — there were about 60,000 of them — consulting with each other the symptom of their babies. And some of their advice,
We Need to Tak about Hyeon-min
In a chapter of “A Manual for the Male Mind,” author Tak Hyeon-min provides a succinct bit of mansplaining. He recommends the old-fashioned pull-out method during intercourse as a means of birth control, his point being that since using a condom impedes the formation of “a next-level emotional rapport,” women
Who Are the Agencies Behind North Korea Tourism?
When hundreds of foreign journalists visited Pyongyang in April to cover North Korea’s latest military parade, Otto Warmbier had already been in a coma for about a year. And nobody knew. Earlier this month, Warmbier’s parents received the first update about their son’s condition since Jan. 2016,